The Nicene Creed: Part 3

What Do We Believe?

by Brandon Jubar

The question was still ringing in my ears as I continued on. "What do you believe? If you've been a Catholic all your life, you must be able to share with me your understanding of our Savior."

But I was on a roll now. The words just kept coming...

"We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
one in being with the Father."

One Lord

Certain words carry meanings and connotations that can only be fully expressed and explained by understanding a bit of their history. The term "Lord" is one such word. In order to understand all that the word implies, we must travel back to the time of Moses.

When God first revealed himself to Moses, the Hebrew name He used was YHWH. When the Old Testament was translated into Greek from the ancient Hebrew, the word used for YHWH is Kyrios, which means "Lord".

Thus it is that, throughout the New Testament, whenever Jesus is referred to as Lord, it is not merely a title bestowed out of respect. The term Kyrios, or Lord, signifies the divinity of Israel's God. So when the term is used in conjunction with Jesus, it indicates that Jesus is being recognized as God Himself.

So when we profess our faith by saying that "we believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ", we are again indicating our belief in a triune God. "Lord" is not just a term used out of respect. It is a part of the very core of Christianity!

Jesus Christ

In Hebrew, "Jesus" means, very literally, "God saves". It is the name that the angel Gabriel gave to him and it conveys not only his identity, but his mission as well. It is truly fitting that the one true Son of God would have such a name. We cannot even refer to the Son without including God, for the very word, "Jesus", signifies that the name of God is present in His Son. And it is the one name that alone can bring salvation.

In the Hebrew tongue, Jesus was called the Messiah... the "anointed" one. Israel had been waiting for their Messiah -- their anointed one -- and Jesus completely fulfilled that hope. His was a threefold office: that of priest, prophet and king. And he accepted the "title" of Messiah in spite of the fact that many people understood the position to be merely political in nature.

Today, we understand that the "king of the Jews" was not a reference to a political being. The king was not to be a ruler of nations in the historical sense. The king of the Jews was to rule the spiritual kingdom -- the kingdom of God. A belief that Jesus, the Messiah, would rule simply as a man is to overlook his divine nature. For Jesus is "one, in Being, with the Father". It is only logical that his kingdom is the kingdom of his Father.

Looking further at the name and "title" of Jesus, we see that the Greek translation of Messiah is "Christ". The use of the name Jesus Christ is at the very heart of Christian prayer. That is why every liturgical prayer in the Catholic Church ends with the words, "through our Lord, Jesus Christ." It is so much more than a name and a title. To put it another way, we pray these prayers "through our God, the one God, whose name is 'God saves', and who has come as the Messiah -- the anointed one -- who is priest, prophet and king to his people".

Yes, it is so much more than a mere name.

Begotten, Not Made

Christians are among the people who believe that God created everything, and He has always existed. Before there was anything, there was God. Therefore, if God has always been, and Jesus is one with God, then it is obvious that Jesus was not "made".

God became man in the form of Jesus. And though God took on the form of man and the soul of man, He retained His divine nature. The Nicene Creed reinforces this notion by explaining, "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God". Jesus was not created by God, he IS God. With this in mind, a new depth of meaning can be found in Jesus' words. "Love one another as I have loved you." That is not just a holy man speaking those words to us. That's God talking!

The Words Kept Coming

I continued my profession, as the "born again" guitar player furrowed his brow. He took a breath, as if in preparation to speak, but I ignored the cue. I simply continued to look into his eyes as the words kept coming...

Life Applications:

When Jesus spoke, he would refer to "my Father" or "your Father". The only time he used the term "our Father" was when he was instructing the apostles on how to pray. When Jesus drew such a clear distinction between his relationship with the Father and that of his listeners, how do you think that it was received? Do you think people were offended?
Do you struggle with the concept of God becoming man while maintaining his divinity, or is it easy for you to see it with your eyes of faith?
When you pray, do you pray "through our Lord, Jesus Christ"? Why or why not?

Copyright 2001-2009 by Brandon Jubar
All rights reserved.